Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a multistate coalition of 25 states and attorneys general, today filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s termination of AmeriCorps grants and the dismantling of the agency.
Through an 85% reduction of its workforce, the Trump administration has effectively ended the agency’s ability to continue administering the programs, operations and funding that make its important work possible.
“Since 1993, approximately 1.3 million Americans have patriotically served their communities through AmeriCorps, assisting veterans and children and protecting the environment,” Raoul said. “The gutting of AmeriCorps is the latest example of the Trump administration’s disregard for the Constitution to achieve their political goals. I will continue to fight back against these illegal and meritless decisions that will have real negative consequences across our country.”
AmeriCorps is an independent federal agency that supports national and state community service programs by engaging Americans in meaningful community-based service that directly addresses the country’s educational, public safety and environmental needs. AmeriCorps also awards grants to local and national organizations and agencies which use funding to address critical community needs. These organizations and agencies use AmeriCorps funding to recruit, place and supervise AmeriCorps members nationwide.
Every year, the agency provides opportunities for more than 200,000 Americans to serve their communities. AmeriCorps members and volunteers have connected veterans to essential services, fought the opioid epidemic, helped older adults age with dignity, rebuilt communities after disasters, and improved the physical and mental well-being of millions of Americans.
In early February, the Trump administration issued an executive order directing every federal agency to plan to reduce the size of its workforce and prepare to initiate in large-scale reductions in force. Since then, AmeriCorps has placed at least 85% of its workforce on administrative leave immediately. In late April, Illinois received notice from the federal government that, effective immediately, they were eliminating 28 programs, impacting 632 workers or volunteers, on which individuals throughout the state rely.
In their complaint, Raoul and the coalition argue that by abruptly canceling critical grants and gutting AmeriCorps’ workforce, the Trump administration is effectively shuttering the national volunteer agency and ending states’ abilities to support AmeriCorps programs within their borders. The coalition explains that the administration has acted unlawfully in its gutting of AmeriCorps, violating both the Administrative Procedure Act and the separation of powers under the U.S. Constitution. Congress has created AmeriCorps and the programs it administers, and the president cannot incapacitate the agency’s ability to administer appropriated grants or carry out statutorily assigned duties. Further, by dismantling AmeriCorps and its programs, which are creatures of Congress, the administration has violated the Executive Branch’s obligation to take care that the law is faithfully executed.
Joining Raoul in filing the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin and the states of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.
